


throw money at each other and cry

by sandyk



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Gen, post infinity wars speculation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-04
Updated: 2018-08-04
Packaged: 2019-06-21 13:24:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15558690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sandyk/pseuds/sandyk
Summary: Peter and Tony were so close Peter knew Tony didn't need Peter to be the one who asked him about his sad memories.





	throw money at each other and cry

**Author's Note:**

> For the trope bingo square: CHARACTER IN DISTRESS. Title from the National song. Thanks to A. not mine, no profit garnered.

No one remembered being killed and turning into dust. This was totally a good thing. Peter had died and he didn't remember any of it. He was really happy about that. He didn't want to know which of his friends just went away with a snap. They were all there now, that's what mattered. 

Tony was one of the few who actually remembered. Very few. He was the one who told Peter what had happened, though it was obviously pretty edited. Peter didn't press him on that stuff. They were close, of course. They were so close Peter knew Tony didn't need Peter to be the one who asked him about it. Tony had Pepper for that. Probably Happy and maybe Colonel Rhodes. Maybe that Dr. Strange guy. Mr. Stark had a bunch of adult friends.

Peter really hoped there were paparazzi at Mr. Stark's wedding which he was absolutely invited to, because he would love to end up in US Weekly. He would actually stick those pictures to Flash every single day. He had to ask if he had a plus one. He probably didn't. Mr. Stark wouldn't just let anyone come to his wedding. 

"One minute we're here and then we're dust. So we all died?" Ned, however, would not let go of the mass death thing once Peter told him about it. He had to tell Ned. Ned was his guy. 

"I think only half," Peter said. "And time was rewritten so it never happened. We're all alive now."

"I wonder if I survived," Ned said. "Man, probably not. Do you think MJ did?"

"I just know I didn't," Peter said. "I think Mr. Stark is freaked out about it."

"I'm freaked out about it," Ned said. "Have you thought about the implications of time being completely rewritten? I'm in favor of you being alive, but, like, time isn't something you mess with. Though it's super cool. I don't know, it's so complex. How do you even, how does that work?"

"I have thought about it and I decided I don't want to anymore," Peter said. "Let's talk about something else, literally anything else."

Ned just stared and then said, "I can't think of anything else now. It's a massive death star in the middle of my brain."

Peter was a much better conversationalist with Mr. Stark. He called him Tony, because Tony asked. They would periodically just hang out. Play with robotics, do cool science things. Tony also felt Peter needed lots of training even though Peter had totally proved himself. But it was kind of fun, Mr. Stark would bring in all these martial arts experts and Peter would put on the new suit and learn to fight. He still had a secret identity unlike basically every other person in the Avengers. Mr. Stark would just sit there outside the ring or on the exercise mats, calling out encouragement to the trained fighters. He never encouraged Peter, but that was Mr. Stark's way. 

At a certain point, though, Peter felt he had to at least try. "Hey, Tony, um, so I was wondering, you know, if you ever want to talk about the burden, I mean, knowing all this stuff other people don't know. With Thanos and everyone dying. I could, well, I could listen."

Mr. Stark just stared at him. He looked old, though. There was a set to his brows and something in his eyes that Peter had seen a lot from Aunt May at some pretty shitty points in their lives. Then Mr. Stark smiled, not very convincingly, and said, "You want to lessen my burden?"

"Okay, I expressed myself badly."

"No, it's darling. You're the best spideregg in the whole wide world," Mr. Stark said. That was weak joking but Peter decided not to point it out. 

"I'm just trying to help, you know," Peter said. "I can be helpful. I've seen a lot of movies."

"And you've had your own share of tragedy," Mr. Stark said in that way he had; he was maybe being sarcastic and maybe being sincere and he'd decide if he meant it which way depending on how you reacted. "Are you dating that MJ girl yet?"

"Okay, we're changing the subject, I get it. But my door is always open," Peter said. "Literally, I can give you a key." Peter clenched and unclenched his fist. He said, "Just don't tell me how I died. I know it was probably the snap thing, but I don't want to know all the other circumstances." Peter took a deep breath and tried to be an adult. He said, "Unless that would make you feel better. Then I can take it."

"In that case," Mr. Stark said. He was smiling again and Peter felt it was at least ten percent more sincere than it had been a few minutes ago. Mr. Stark said, "I'm good. I actually have incredibly expensive therapists, but thank you."

"How do you tell a therapist about the end of the world and infinity stones and half the universe being winked out of existence? Who has that experience?"

"Well, one of them worked for SHIELD and thankfully wasn't HYDRA, so that works out for me," Mr. Stark said. "If you ever need one, I can give you his card. And pay for your sessions. It might be good for you. I wish I'd had a therapist when I was a teenager. I did actually have one, three, possibly five, but none of them worked for Nick Fury. That I know of."

"So they weren't helpful?"

"No, I wasn't willing to be helped," Mr. Stark said. "That took forever. Don't be that guy, Rockette."

"Oh, that's a joke on Peter meaning rock, right?"

Mr. Stark stood up and laughed. "Yes, it was. I went to fancy schools."

"So, in conclusion, I totally made him feel better," Peter told Ned. "And he made a pun in a dead language."

"Yeah, you're the balm to his troubled soul," Ned said.


End file.
